Accra:A recent employment survey conducted by the National Institute of Statistics (INS) revealed that 86.6% of jobs in Cameroon are in the informal sector, highlighting the limited reach of formal employment throughout the country. According to Cameroon News Agency, the findings are part of the third Survey on Employment and the Informal Sector (EESI3), with data gathered from May 10 to July 10, 2021, and published in 2023. The survey, which included responses from 8,738 households, continues to inform reports as recent as 2025. INS identified that informal non-agricultural activities make up 52% of employment, while informal agriculture accounts for 34.7%. In contrast, public-sector employment represents 8.2%, and the formal private sector contributes 5.1%. The prevalence of informal employment varies significantly by region. The highest rates are in the Far North and North at 94.2%, followed by Adamawa at 91.6% and the Northwest at 91.2%. Other notable rates include 89.1% in the East, 88% in Littoral ex cluding Douala, and 87.5% in the West. The figure drops to 86.7% in the South, 84.9% in the Centre excluding Yaoundé, and is lowest in Douala and Yaoundé at 78.9% and 75.9%, respectively. The Southwest has the lowest rate at 70.1%. Moreover, only 38.6% of employed individuals are wage earners, with a higher concentration of 48.3% in urban centers and 64.6% in Yaoundé. A separate INS survey on the informal sector found that just 6% of informal-sector workers are salaried, while 78.3% are self-employed. Nearly half of these workers, 47.2%, work more than 40 hours a week.
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